Register of Resources (RoR)

My research focus is the taxonomy and ecology of deep-sea scavenging amphipods from the superfamily Lysianassoidea. As a taxonomist I have a keen interest in the advances in modern methods of taxonomic databasing, interactive web-based keys and digital illustration. I also retain more than a passing interest in fish parasitology and in particular studies of Cymothoid isopods following my PhD, studying the taxonomy, ecology and pathology of cymothoid isopods in both wild and farmed fish. I have been employed as a researcher on a variety of deep-sea biodiversity projects at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, since 2001. I am also the manager of the Discovery Collections, a unique collection of deep-sea samples held partly at NOC and partly at the Natural History Museum in London. I am currently working on the World Register of Deep-Sea Species (WoRDSS http://www.marinespecies.org/deepsea/index.php), and jointly coordinating the World Amphipoda Database (http://www.marinespecies.org/amphipoda/index.php).

Vandepitte, L.; Vanhoorne, B.; Decock, W.; Vranken, S.; Lanssens, T.; Dekeyzer, S.; Verfaille, K.; Horton, T.; Kroh, A.; Hernandez, F.; Mees, J. (2018). A decade of the World Register of Marine Species – General insights and experiences from the Data Management Team: Where are we, what have we learned and how can we continue? PLoS One 13(4): e0194599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194599

Vandepitte, L.; Vanhoorne, B.; Decock, W.; Lanssens, T.; Dekeyzer, S.; Verfaille, K.; Horton, T.; Kroh, A. (2018). 10 years of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS): where do we stand & where are we heading? PeerJ Preprint. https://hdl.handle.net/10.7287/peerj.preprints.26682v1